Road resurfacing project in Westwood on hold due to anticipated utility work

Although a major road resurfacing project was due to start Tuesday in Westwood, the work is being delayed indefinitely to allow PSE&G to perform utility upgrades.

Officials had planned several road closures over the next two weeks for streets in the downtown to be milled and paved, which is one of the last aspects of the ongoing construction project to ease traffic congestion in the area.

The $2.5 million project, which began in June 2013, involves synchronizing traffic signals at NJ Transit rail crossings at three Broadway intersections. The scope of work also includes widening the road at the three intersections to add new turning lanes and making sidewalk improvements.

On Monday morning, Mayor John Birkner, Jr. said he learned that the road work could not move forward since PSE&G planned to begin gas line improvements in Westwood in connection with the company's "Energy Strong" infrastructure-hardening project.

Birkner said officials were not made aware that the utility company had any additional work planned in Westwood and questioned why they didn't know about it until "the 11th hour and 59th minute" before the next stage of the intersection modernization project was due to begin. "It's frustrating," he added.

PSE&G issued a statement on May 1, saying it had reached an agreement with the state Board of Public Utilities to move forward with its $1.22 billion "Energy Strong" project. After more than a year of hearings, the BPU approved the utility company's request to invest funding during the next five years to improve its electric and gas systems. Following widespread power outages across the state after Superstorm Sandy, PSE&G aims to raise or relocate 29 substations damaged in recent storms, replace 250 miles of low-pressure cast iron gas mains in or near flood areas, and deploy smart-grid technology to better monitor system operations.

Birkner said a meeting is scheduled for this week between borough officials, county officials and representatives from PSE&G to further discuss the duration of the gas main replacement work and how it will impact the remainder of Westwood's project.

The county, which is serving as the lead agency on the project, is covering construction costs, while Westwood allocated $385,000 from a bond ordinance to cover engineering, design and police overtime. The balance is being funded by NJ Transit, PSE&G, the state and the Division of Railroads.

"We have to see how it pans out... None of the answers are set in stone yet," Birkner said on Monday afternoon. "This is the largest and most comprehensive infrastructure project in the borough in many, many decades [and] we're looking to get past this to completion."

Over the last 11 months, there have been periodic road closures and detours in the area, resulting in a "tense time for many business owners" in the downtown, he added.

After the project is done, cars will be able to travel north and south on Broadway while the railroad gates are down. Currently, at the intersections of Irvington Street, Washington Avenue and First Avenue, signals turn red in all directions when the train passes through the borough, resulting in traffic tie ups.

Birkner said "the good news" is that the streets will be restriped with final markings, the signage will be installed, and the new signals will be up and running, which will allow for the new traffic patterns to take effect, except at the intersection of Broadway and Washington Avenue.